WebP Format — What is Web Picture Format?
WebP is a modern image format developed by Google that provides superior compression for images on the web. It supports both lossy and lossless compression with transparency.
Extension
.webp
Compression
Lossy
Transparency
Yes
MIME Type
image/webp
Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- • 25-34% smaller than JPEG
- • Supports transparency
- • Both lossy and lossless modes
- • Animation support
❌ Cons
- • Limited legacy browser support
- • Less universal than JPEG/PNG
- • Harder to edit in some tools
Best Use Cases
- Web optimization
- Modern websites
- Performance-focused sites
- Replacing both PNG and JPEG
Technical Details
WebP uses VP8 codec for lossy compression and a predictive coding method for lossless. It supports alpha channel transparency in both modes and uses RIFF container format.
History
WebP was announced by Google in 2010 as part of the WebM project. Browser support has grown steadily, with all major browsers now supporting it.